


The Manhole

by celestialskies



Series: Sanders Sides AU [1]
Category: Ruby Redfort Series - Lauren Child
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, based on the scene where ruby's about to get into spectrum for the first time, god it feels wierd tagging them as ocs bc they don't feel like my own characters tbh, look for now i am not gonna give this a proper title wtf am i meant to call it anyway, sanders sides au, shit man what can i tag this as, u know the one outside the lucky 8 gas station in the first book, uhhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 07:50:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13290378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialskies/pseuds/celestialskies
Summary: “Come on, we should be fine. Whoever wants us to go down here hasn't tried to kill us yet. Why start now?” Hunter encouraged, moving forward to nudge Ruby slightly.“To lure us into a false sense of security and build a small element of trust between us and a voice on the end of the phone before sending us straight into a trap, making our downfall all the sweeter for them,” Wit interjected unhelpfully, still not looking up. Ruby and Andie glared at her. “What? It’s a very common trope in fiction.”





	The Manhole

**Author's Note:**

> ok so first things first if you haven't come here from my tumblr and found this fic through ao3 you might want to check out this post: https://bozo-says-what.tumblr.com/post/167949437884/if-ruby-redfort-characters-had-sides-like-the because otherwise this won't make any sense at all (i can't guarantee that post will make it make any sense but it might clear it up a bit).  
> secondly, i know this isn't very long at all but for now i'm just trying to get a feel for the characters by exploring scenes from the actual series but adding them in
> 
> also at this point Wit is relatively new to the group and she's still somewhat of an outcast (she gets on well with Minnie and Hunter and she likes Addy, but she and Andie have a similar dynamic to Virgil and Roman from earlier Sanders Sides videos), so the other's don't actually know her name - hence why I refer to her only as Wit and not Cassie

“Huh. That was a surprisingly easy puzzle to solve,” Minnie remarked as Ruby pried the manhole cover away from the floor and sat back on her heels. “I am surprised it took that long for us to figure out.”

“It took so long _because_ it was so simple,” Wit said, not looking up from the book she was reading by light of the gas station. “We all assumed it would be something ridiculously difficult, so we overlooked the possibility that it was just a matter of turning the cover. **Rule 3: People so often don’t see what’s right in front of their eyes**. Or alternatively: **Rule 18: People often miss the downright obvious.** Maybe that’s rule nineteen, actually.” She looked up when she noticed the eyes of everyone else on her. “What? You don't gotta look so surprised every time I say something helpful.”

Minnie and Hunter shook their heads and turned towards the more pressing matter at hand – the gaping chasm that was the manhole.

“So ...” Minnie said hesitantly.

“So ...” Ruby repeated. She and Minnie eyed the manhole wearily. Addy, Hunter and Andie stood slightly behind them, looking on slightly fearfully (not that Andie would ever admit it). Wit read her book ( _Murder on the Orient Express_ by Agatha Christie. It was surprisingly gripping for a novel with so little action) and tried to ignore them for the most part.

“Come on, we should be fine. Whoever wants us to go down here hasn't tried to kill us yet. Why start now?” Hunter encouraged, moving forward to nudge Ruby slightly.

“To lure us into a false sense of security and build a small element of trust between us and a voice on the end of the phone before sending us straight into a trap, making our downfall all the sweeter for them,” Wit interjected unhelpfully, still not looking up. Ruby and Andie glared at her. “What? It’s a very common trope in fiction.”

Hunter sighed. “But we're not a work of fiction, Wit. C'mon, you'll be fine.” This last part was directed at Ruby.

“Instinct is correct,” Minnie said. “We are not a work of fiction and have no need to worry about over-used clichés. It is highly improbable that the person who directed us here is creating ‘a false sense of security’ in order to bring about our downfall.”

Andie had by now recovered from her initial fear and dashed in front of them.

“Yeah! Come on, let’s go, this looks _fun_!” she cried. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like we’re gonna be fatally injured just crawling through a tunnel!”

“Well, whilst it's true that no harm can come to _us_ , it's still likely – and in fact rather easy – for harm to come to Ruby. We are imaginary and can not be hurt by physical things outside of Ruby's mind, whereas you -"

Hunter cut her off, casting a worried glance in Ruby's direction. “Okay, thank you, Minnie, I think that's enough. Come on, Rube, I don't really got a bad feeling about this. I think you'll be just fine.”

Ruby sighed.

“Alright. Here we -"

“Wait, wait, hold up,” Wit interrupted, and the others sighed in unison. “I’m just saying, I’m gonna sink out and you guys should probably do the same. That tunnel doesn’t look that big, and Ruby doesn’t need another five people clogging up the place.” Andie sighed, unwilling to admit that Wit had a point.

“I suppose she’s right. But don’t worry, Rube, we’ll still be with you every step of the way! Or every crawl.”

Ruby sighed but allowed her five personality traits to sink down back into her mind, leaving her alone in the darkness with nothing but the manhole and flickering lights of the unused gas station.


End file.
